Apollo Snaps Up $218M of Debt on St. Regis New York Retail Condo: Sources

The holiday shopping season may be well behind us now, but one firm is still pursuing some enticing retail opportunities on Fifth Avenue. 

Apollo Global Management has purchased $218 million of existing loans on the retail condo at the St. Regis hotel at 2 East 55th Street in Manhattan, sources familiar with the deal told Commercial Observer. 

The total debt on the property is roughly $356 million, and the loan collateral comprises the three-story retail condominium at the swanky Midtown hotel plus an adjacent five-story, 26,000-square-foot townhome. 

Eastdil Secured’s Gary Phillips, Will Silverman, Dave Dorros and Carly Shoulberg led the sale, sources said. 

A partnership between Vornado Realty Trust and Crown Acquisitions purchased the retail condo — which sits in a prime spot for foot traffic with 100 feet of Fifth Avenue frontage — for $700 million in 2014. Vornado also owns 689 Fifth Avenue on the same block, known as one of Manhattan’s top retail corridors. 

The borrowers took out a $450 million loan at the time of the purchase. They defaulted on the loan in late 2022 before restructuring the debt down to $356 million and refinancing it with lender Crédit Agricole in 2023, Pincus Co. reported at the time. There are said to be several sellers of the $218 million chunk recently sold to Apollo, with Société Générale also a lender in in the capital stack, sources said. 

It’s unclear whether the remaining $138 million in debt on the property is also being marketed for sale, but sources told CO that the debt Apollo purchased is unimpaired, and the firm is acquiring it to be paid off at maturity. 

Apollo and Vornado declined to comment. Crédit Agricole didn’t immediately return a request for comment. 

Cathy Cunningham can be reached at ccunningham@commercialobserver.com.